CITIZENSHIP LAW OF ICELAND ICELANDIC NATIONALITY ACT (No. 100 of 23 December 1952, as amended by Act No. 49 of 11 May 1982) Article 1 A child shall acquire Icelandic nationality at birth: (1) if he is born in wedlock and his father or mother is an Icelandic national. (2) if he is born out of wedlock and his mother is an Icelandic national. A child found abandoned in Iceland shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to be an Icelandic national. Article 2 Children born out of wedlock to an Icelandic man and an alien woman shall, if they are unmarried and are under the age of eighteen years, acquire Icelandic nationality on the marriage of their parents. Article 2a An alien child who is adopted with the permission of the Icelandic government by a married couple, both of whom are Icelandic nationals, or by a single person who is an Icelandic national, and who is domiciled together with his adoptive parent(s) in Iceland, shall acquire Icelandic nationality if before the child attains the age of seven years his adoptive parent(s) give the Ministry of Justice notice in writing of their desire that he should do so. Acquisition of nationality by virtue of this Article shall take effect when ratification of such acquisition has been issued. Article 3 An alien who has been domiciled in Iceland continuously from the time he attained the age of sixteen years and who has additionally resided there for a period totalling not less than five years before that shall acquire Icelandic nationality by giving the Ministry of Justice notice in writing, after he has attained the age of twenty-one but before he attains the age of twenty-three years, of his desire to do so. If he is stateless or if he shows that he will lose his foreign nationality on acquiring Icelandic nationality, he may give such notice on attaining the age of eighteen years, provided that he has at the time notice is given been domiciled in Iceland for the previous five years and has additionally resided there for a period totalling not less than five years before that. If Iceland is at war, a national of an enemy state shall not acquire Icelandic nationality by virtue of this Article. The same shall apply to a stateless person who was, immediately before he became stateless, a national of an enemy state. Article 4 If a person who acquired Icelandic nationality at birth and who was domiciled in Iceland until he attained the age of eighteen years loses his Icelandic nationality, he shall resume that nationality by giving the Ministry of Justice notice in writing of his desire to do so, provided that he has at the time notice is given been domiciled in Iceland for the previous two years. If he is a national of another country, such notice will be effective only if he shows that he will by giving it lose his foreign nationality. Article 5 If a person acquires Icelandic nationality by virtue of Article 3 or 4, then at the same time his legitimate, unmarried children under the age of eighteen years domiciled in Iceland shall also acquire Icelandic nationality. This shall not apply to children who have, following the divorce or judicial separation of their parents, been placed in the custody of the other parent. The provision of the first sentence of the preceding paragraph shall apply in like manner to the relationship between an illegitimate child and his mother, unless the father is an alien and has custody of the child. Article 6 Nationality may be granted by Statute in conformity with the Constitution. Before an application for nationality is submitted to the Althing, the Ministry of Justice shall obtain statements on the application from the Chief of Police and the local authority in the applicant's place of residence. Except insofar as the Statute otherwise provides, the provisions of Article 5 shall apply to the children of a person who acquires nationality by Statute. Article 7 A person shall lose his Icelandic nationality if: (1) he acquires a foreign nationality by his own application or express consent; (2) he acquires a foreign nationality by entering the public service of another state; (3) being unmarried and under the age of eighteen years, he becomes a foreign national by virtue of the acquisition of a foreign nationality in the manner described in (1) or (2) above by his parents having custody of him, or by one of his parents having alone or jointly with the other, not being an Icelandic national, custody of him. Article 8 An Icelandic national who was born abroad and who has never been domiciled in Iceland nor resided there for any purpose which could be interpreted as indicating his desire to be an Icelandic national shall lose his Icelandic nationality on attaining the age of twenty-two years. The President may however permit him to retain his nationality on application within that period. The children of a person who loses his Icelandic nationality by virtue of this Article shall also lose their Icelandic nationality acquired through his nationality, unless such loss would render them stateless. Article 9 The President may release from allegiance to Iceland a person who has become or who wishes to become a foreign national, provided that he shows that he will within a specified time become a foreign national if he has not already become such a national. Release from allegiance will not be denied to a person who is a foreign national and who is domiciled abroad. Article 9a Agreements may be concluded with other States allowing for the provisions of the second and third paragraphs below to take effect. The words "Contracting State" in this Article refer to the State or States with which such an agreement is concluded. An Icelandic national who also became at birth a national of a Contracting State shall lose his Icelandic nationality on attaining an age to be specified in the Agreement, such age to be not lower than nineteen nor higher than twentytwo years, provided that he has been domiciled in that Contracting State for the previous five years. The children of a person who loses his nationality under the terms of the second paragraph shall also lose their nationality if they derive it from his nationality, unless such loss would render them stateless. A person who has lost his Icelandic nationality by virtue of this article and who has continuously since the time of that loss been a national of a Contracting State shall resume his Icelandic nationality by giving the Ministry of Justice notice in writing of his desire to do so, provided that he has once again become domiciled in Iceland. The provisions of Article 5 and of the second sentence of Article 4 shall apply here correspondingly. Article 9b Agreements may be concluded with Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden allowing for one or more of the provisions of A-C below to take effect. The words "Nordic Contracting State" in this Article refer to the State or States with which such agreements are concluded. A. When applying Article 3, domicile in a Nordic Contracting State before the age of sixteen years shall count equally with domicile in Iceland. The person in question shall nontheless at the time notice is given have been domiciled in Iceland for the previous five years. When applying Article 4, domicile in a Nordic Contracting State before the age of twelve years shall count equally with domicile in Iceland. When applying Article 8, domicile in a Nordic Contracting State for a period of at least seven years shall count equally with domicile in Iceland. B. A national of a Nordic Contracting State who: (1) acquired nationality of that State otherwise than by statute or corresponding means, (2) has attained the age of eighteen years, (3) has been domiciled in Iceland for the last seven years, and (4) has not during that period been sentenced to imprisonment or to be subjected to constraint or to detention in an institution in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code shall acquire Icelandic nationality by giving the Minister of Justice notice in writing of his desire to do so. The provisions of Article 5 shall apply here. C. A person who has lost his Icelandic nationality and who has continuously since then been a national of a Nordic Contracting State shall resume his Icelandic nationality by giving the Ministry of Justice notice in writing of his desire to do so, provided that he has become domiciled in Iceland. The provisions of Article 5 shall apply here. Article 10 The Minister of Justice shall decide in case of dispute as to whether a person has acquired Icelandic nationality on the passing of this Act or whether he fulfils the requirements for acquiring Icelandic nationality by giving notice of his desire to do so. Any such decision shall be subject to appeal to the courts. The Minister of Justice may make further rules for giving effect to this Act. Notice given under this Act to the effect that a person wishes to become an Icelandic national may be given by that person only and not by his guardian or other person acting in loco parentis. Where no other age limit is specified in this Act, a person who has attained the age of eighteen years shall, regardless of the fact that he is in the custody of another person, be entitled to give notice concerning his nationality under this Act. Article 11 A child under the age of eighteen years who would have possessed Icelandic nationality if the provisions of Article 1, paragraph 1, (2) had been in force before the entry into force of this Act and who neither is nor has been a national of another country shall acquire Icelandic nationality on entry into force of this Act. A woman who under legislation previously in force lost her Icelandic nationality through marrying a foreign national or through acquiring a foreign nationality either by marriage or because her husband acquired a foreign nationality but who would have retained her Icelandic nationality if the provisions of this Act had then been in force may resume that nationality by giving the Ministry of Justice notice in writing of her desire to do so. Such notice shall be given before 31 December 1957. A woman who attains the age of twenty-two years before 1 January 1956 and who is or has been married at the time of attaining that age shall not lose her Icelandic nationality by virtue of the first paragraph of Article 8 until the end of 1956. A person who has become a national of another country but who has retained Icelandic nationality under the provisions of the second sentence of Article 5 of Act No. 64, 28 January 1935 shall not lose his Icelandic nationality on emigrating from Iceland unless he is still a national of another country and would lose or would have lost his Icelandic nationality under the provisions of Article 7 of this Act had it been in force previously. Should conditions sufficient for the acquisition of Icelandic nationality or warranting the loss thereof arise after the entry into force of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall be applied as if it had been in force previously. iceland.wp5